Blood & Soul Teaser

Revealed here for the very first time is a rough draft of the “dust jacket” of my heroic fantasy fiction book Blood & Soul. Think of it like movie preview or a teaser. I submit this work in progress for your cheers or jeers:

The face of the holy man glowed in the amber light of the campfire, “The myths and legends of Agontica tell the tale of a clouded world over two millennia ago ruled by darkness and demons until a man with godlike powers banished them to the mist of the underworld. He sealed them away by pouring a chalice of his own blood into the portal. You know him as Troban, the founder of the Midvast and its capital, Roxin. The history of Troban’s life dimmed with the passing of the years and he’s often mocked in the theaters of the city. In the years of his long reign he sent forth great men to collect books of wisdom from across the continent and seas to help him rule his kingdom. He entitled the collection, Creed of Kings. Near the end of his many days he was visited by a bright and beautiful vision in the King’s Hills above Roxin in the shadow of Quuma’s ancient temple on the edge of the encroaching forest. The horde lords of the demons he had banished once worshiped there. He had preserved the temple as a souvenir of his victory. As the vision intensified, Troban could not bear to look at it but for an instant through narrowed eyes. A voice from within the light terrified him, but also comforted him. He fell to his feeble knees and listened. On his death bed, he referred to this voice as the Rival. The being’s voice shook earth and stars but calmed Troban’s soul. The Rival had ordered Troban to tear down Quuma’s temple and then shocked him by saying the Creed of Kings would kill the gods and goddesses of mankind. Preserve it for the ages.”

“Why didn’t he tear down the temple?” asked Ledarrin.

“He thought it was too beautiful,” answered the holy man.

“Why was the Creed not preserved?”

“The Order of the Creed was established in the time of Troban but they were ostracized and regarded as zealots and scattered five-hundred years ago.” The holy man peered through the edge of his eyes at Ledarrin, “In this new age, it would be a very uncomfortable book for the shamans to read, much less study the Creed of Kings.”

Two-thousand years after Troban established realm of the Midvast. Mathagel, the pureblood son of King Athorigan impatiently waits to inherit the throne of the Midvast to perfect the realm with his bold purpose. It is his undeniable fate. He was born to receive the honor of his heritage. Mathagel’s younger brother, Ledarrin, is the bastard son of the king, unworthy of the throne and fated for futility. King Athorigan promised Ledarrin’s mother, before her death, to raise the boy in his vast palace. The boy grew to manhood in shadows of his royal father and jealous brother. Ledarrin marries his love, Nikea, the beautiful daughter of Chief Sogg of the Wolf Clan, the lords of the plains. Secure in the palace Nikea struggles inwardly to cope with her gift. Sometimes, to her distress, she glimpses the spirit world and the future. She sees a future that threatens Mathagel’s ascendency to the throne. Mathagel is enraged when he learns of it. No one should question his destiny for his lineage is directly from Troban and sanctioned by the gods. Mathagel captures Ledarrin and the king. While they await execution before the people for conspiracy against the realm, Mathagel threatens Nikea by demanding that she should see a future where he is king. She refuses, so, he murders her. Ledarrin’s world is shattered. But, the pureblood son is a puppet in his own realm, used by Urbak, the Great Shaman who secretly worships Quuma. He has infiltrated the Shrine of Deities in a plot to reverse Troban’s spell in preparation for the Gray Day, the day of demons, which coincides with an eclipse of the sun. As the day approaches, the hope to hold back the horde of horror is slipping away. The world hangs in the balance as Ledarrin struggles between avenging his murdered wife and finding the Creed of Kings, which contains the knowledge to hold the demons in the underworld. He has to forge a new path, embrace a future beyond the shadows of his former life in the palace and into the light of his volition and courage. But his inner doubts and foes, both obvious and subtle, rise to thwart his quest for Creed of Kings. Everything, his family, his friends, his world will be destroyed or saved in one moment. He discovers a secret from his past that reveals him as the only one who can stop Quuma and the rise of the demon horde. It will be the difference between blood and soul.

About Allen Bagby

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Ifelt like I was watching a current movie trailer… after it was over I didn’t really want to watch the film because it told too much.

This is a quick review… Hope it helps…

Thanks for the comment. I agree. It’s too long. Good thing it’s a rough draft. Still working on it. Yes, I hope to shorten it. I love the Gladiator teaser, “The general who became a slave. The slave who become a gladiator. The gladiator who challenged an emperor.” <<– THAT is awesome! I hope to make some pithy promos like that.